Search health advice

Question

Posted by: Worried | 2009-10-13

Q.

Please advise... ANYONE

Hi,My baby is about to turn 5 months old now and I' ve just recently returned to work. My worry is that my sitter is always carrying my baby on her back and I feel she' s not giving him enough time to be free, play around, and also learn how to use certain features on hin his body, like hands, learning how to sit upright etc.Could this afftect my baby' s development as he' s not training his muscles enough? Or could this also lead to late development?

Expert's Reply

A.

This way of carrying your baby around will benefit our baby so do not be concerned. She should also play with him at times during the day when he is awake.

The information provided does not constitute a diagnosis of your condition. You should consult a medical practitioner or other appropriate health care professional for a physical exmanication, diagnosis and formal
advice. Health24 and the expert accept no responsibility or liability for any damage or personal harm you may suffer resulting from making use of this content.

user comments

C.

Posted by: Purple | 2009-10-13

It is very soothing for baby to be on her nanny' s back, however, this should only be for a limited time per day.

IF you can afford to do it, you should send her on a nanny training course, where they cover things like hygiene, stimulating baby, safety and other relevant topics.

If not, then sit her down and explain to her what you want done each day - so in each and every day, baby must have some time outside where she plays on a rug (perhaps if your nanny works as a maid too, she can hang up the washing in that time), some time where they actively play together - sing songs - you can tell her its a lovely chance for her to teach her some traditional songs from her culture, etc.Explain that you only want baby on her back when it is sleep time or when she is crying and needs comfort.

My son was home with a nanny, and we had a book where I wrote in any specific activities I wanted done that day and when toys needed to be rotated etc. She also recorded the times bottles of expressed milk were given, whether any formula was given, times of nappy changes and contents of the nappy, my babies general mood that day and so on.She wrote about when and where they played and what they did.If she couldn' t do something I asked, she would write why.She also wrote any developmental milestones reached etc (on the day my son crawled she phoned me at work to tell me and when I get home she called him to the other end of hte passage so I could see).

If your nanny does housework too - make it very clear that baby is more important than the housework. She must fit in what housework she can do around babies needs and not the other way around.

Get a daily health tip

Stay in touch

The information on Health24 is for educational purposes only, and is not intended as medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. If you are experiencing symptoms or need health advice, please consult a healthcare professional. See additional information.